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Chapter 2 of 10All chapters

Chapter 2 of 10

Conformity

Going along with the group.

Asch

Asked to judge obviously unequal line lengths, participants agreed with a unanimous wrong majority in a substantial share of trials, knowing it was wrong.

  • A single ally who dissents collapses the effect.
  • People conform both to be right and to be accepted; the two motives differ.

In practice

Meetings where the first speaker anchors everyone are the everyday version. Collecting views independently beforehand is the standard antidote.